100 Things I Want to Teach My Son
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Things I Want to Teach My Son Before He Begins His Own Journey
This is my list of the things that I believe will teach him to make the best possible choices for himself, and help him to live a happy, healthy, successful life.
I know we all want the same things for our kids. We want them to be happy. We want them to be healthy. We want them to be successful. From the time they enter our lives, until the time they leave home, we have a magical window of opportunity to teach them what counts in life, and what we believe to be the most important things.
I hope my words inspire you to create your own list and to add your ideas to my list too, for as we all know, parenting is not always easy and "It takes a village to raise a child."
Things I Want to Teach my Son
- 100 Things I Want to Teach My Son
- I want to Teach My Son to Make Beautiful Music
- Live as "If Today Was Your Last Day"
- Take the Road Less Traveled By
- Make Your Dash Count
- I Want to Teach My Son to Cook
- I Hope You Dance
- Don't Quit
- Don't Sweat the Small Stuff
- To a Child, Love is Spelled T-I-M-E
- Welcome My Friend!
- My Other Lenses
“You may give them your love but not your thoughts,
For they have their own thoughts.”
These were life-changing words for me by Kahlil Gibran....
Almost 20 years before my son was born, when I was a young teenager, I read The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran. I can still remember how I felt the first time I read his poem On Children. It felt like I had received a beautiful gift, a knowing deep down in my soul that this was to become a truth for me.That same day, as I read and re-read On Children, I made a promise to myself that if I ever had a child, I would live and parent by those words. Today and every day, as I think of the things I want to teach my son, I remind myself that I can give him my love but not my thoughts and I can house his body but not his soul.
I have read this poem dozens of times since then, and even now, as I type these words, I get teary-eyed and filled with gratitude.
On Children
from The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran
And a woman who held a babe against her bosom said, Speak to us of Children.
And he said:
Your children are not your children.
They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself.
They come through you but not from you,
And though they are with you yet they belong not to you.
You may give them your love but not your thoughts,
For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow,
which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.
You may strive to be like them,
but seek not to make them like you.
For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.
You are the bows from which your children
as living arrows are sent forth.
The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite,
and He bends you with His might
that His arrows may go swift and far.
Let your bending in the archer's hand be for gladness;
For even as He loves the arrow that flies,
so He loves also the bow that is stable.
If you have already read The Prophet then you know how beautiful and powerful the words are. I have read hundreds of books over the years, yet this is still on my list of absolute favorite books of all time.
I've given it away as a gift more times than I can remember. I wish it were required reading for teens before they graduate, for couples before they get married, and especially for parents before they have kids. Highly, highly recommended reading.
The words are especially powerful when you hear them....
I Believe...
"It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men."
Frederick Douglass
100 Things I Want to Teach My Son
"For every minute you remain angry, you give up sixty seconds of peace of mind." Ralph Waldo Emerson6 points
"For peace of mind, resign as general manager of the universe." Author Unknown3 points
"Try not to become a man of success, but rather try to become a man of value." Albert Einstein3 points
"Compassion and tolerance are not a sign of weakness, but a sign of strength." Dalai Lama3 points
"When you judge another, you do not define them, you define yourself." Wayne Dyer3 points
"Breathe. Let go. And remind yourself that this very moment is the only one you know you have for sure." Oprah Winfrey3 points
"Wherever you go, no matter what the weather, always bring your own sunshine." Anthony J. D'Angelo3 points
"Faith can move mountains, but don't be surprised if God hands you a shovel." Author Unknown3 points
"Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase." Martin Luther King Jr.3 points
"In the midst of movement and chaos, keep stillness inside of you." Deepak Chopra2 points
"Spread love everywhere you go. Let no one ever come to you without leaving happier." Mother Teresa2 points
"Nobody cares how much you know, until they know how much you care." Theodore Roosevelt2 points
"To bring anything into your life, imagine that it's already there!" Richard Bach2 points
"To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift." Steve Prefontaine2 points
"Change the changeable, accept the unchangeable, and remove yourself from the unacceptable." Denis Waitley2 points
"Don't frown because you never know who might be falling in love with your smile." Author Unknown2 points
"Never give up, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn." Harriet Beecher Stowe2 points
"Rule number one is, don't sweat the small stuff. Rule number two is, it's all small stuff." Robert Eliot2 points
"Faith is building on what you know is here, so you can reach what you know is there." Cullen Hightower2 points
"Regardless of your lot in life, you can build something beautiful on it." Zig Ziglar2 points
"All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them." Walt Disney2 points
"Things turn out best for the people who make the best out of the way things turn out." Art Linkletter2 points
"Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced." James Baldwin2 points
"You may not realize it when it happens, but a kick in the teeth may be the best thing in the world for you." Walt Disney2 points
"The soul would have no rainbow had the eyes no tears." John Vance Cheney2 points
"When you're feeling your worst, that's when you get to know yourself the best." Leslie Grossman2 points
"An apology is the superglue of life. It can repair just about anything." Lynn Johnston2 points
"In faith there is enough light for those who want to believe and enough shadows to blind those who don't." Blaise Pascal2 points
"To be what you want to be, you must give up being what you are." Cat Stevens1 point
"To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you." Lewis Smedes1 point
"Remember, if you're headed in the wrong direction, God allows U-turns!" Allison Gappa Bottke1 point
"Never apologize for showing feeling. When you do so, you apologize for the truth." Benjamin Disraeli1 point
"Believe deep down in your heart that you're destined to do great things." Joe Paterno1 point
"Develop a passion for learning. If you do, you will never cease to grow." Anthony J. D'Angelo1 point
"Nobody can make you feel inferior without your consent." Eleanor Roosevelt1 point
"If you cannot lift the load off another's back, do not walk away. Try to lighten it." Frank Tyger1 point
"Too many people miss the silver lining because they're expecting gold." Maurice Setter1 point
"Everyone wants to be appreciated, so if you appreciate someone, don't keep it a secret." Mary Kay Ash1 point
"To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded." Ralph Waldo Emerson1 point
"If you realized how powerful your thoughts are, you would never think a negative thought." Peace Pilgrim1 point
"Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference." Winston Churchill1 point
"Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things." Robert Brault1 point
"The impossible can always be broken down into possibilities." Author Unknown1 point
"Some days there won't be a song in your heart. Sing anyway." Emory Austin1 point
"We must be willing to get rid of the life we've planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us." Joseph Campbell1 point
"Sometimes in tragedy we find our life's purpose - the eye sheds a tear to find its focus." Robert Brault1 point
"Don't cry when the sun is gone, because the tears won't let you see the stars." Violeta Parra1 point
"The gem cannot be polished without friction nor man without trials." Confucius1 point
"Faith is the bird that sings when the dawn is still dark." Rabindranath Tagore1 point
"Clean out a corner of your mind and creativity will instantly fill it." Dee Hock0 points
"Imagine no limitations; decide what's right and desirable before you decide what's possible." Brian Tracy0 points
"If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude." Maya Angelou0 points
"Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience." Ralph Waldo Emerson0 points
"Be careless in your dress if you will, but keep a tidy soul." Mark Twain0 points
"Never look down on someone unless you're helping them up." Jesse Jackson0 points
"You don't have to be great to start - but you have to start to be great." John C. Maxwell0 points
"Everything comes to us that belongs to us if we create the capacity to receive it." Rabindranath Tagore0 points
"An old belief is like an old shoe. We so value its comfort that we fail to notice the hole in it." Robert Brault0 points
"Remember when you see a man at the top of a mountain, he didn't fall there." Author Unknown0 points
"Say not, 'I have found the truth,' but rather, 'I have found a truth.'" Kahlil Gibran0 points
"We cannot direct the wind but we can adjust the sails." Author Unknown0 points
"A loving person lives in a loving world. A hostile person lives in a hostile world; everyone you meet is your mirror." Ken Keyes, Jr.0 points
"Turn your face to the sun and the shadows fall behind you." Maori Proverb0 points
"The vision must be followed by the venture. It is not enough to stare up the steps - we must step up the stairs." Vance Havner0 points
"People may doubt what you say, but they will believe what you do." Lewis Cass0 points
"A bend in the road is not the end of the road... unless you fail to make the turn." Author Unknown0 points
"Every problem has in it the seeds of its own solution. If you don't have any problems, you don't get any seeds." Norman Vincent Peale0 points
"The difficulties of life are intended to make us better, not bitter." Author Unknown0 points
"Doubt is a pain too lonely to know that faith is his twin brother." Kahlil Gibran0 points
"I bring you the gift of these four words: I believe in you."
Blaise Pascal
My Son, I Believe in You!
Your talent is God's gift to you.
What you do with it is your gift back to God.
"Your talent is God's gift to you. What you do with it is your gift back to God." Leo Buscaglia
I want to Teach My Son to Make Beautiful Music
Live as "If Today Was Your Last Day"
10 things I want to teach my son (from the lyrics by Nickelback)
- Each day's a gift and not a given right
- Leave no stone unturned, leave your fears behind
- And try to take the path less traveled by
- That first step you take is the longest stride
- Against the grain should be a way of life
- What's worth the price is always worth the fight
- Every second counts 'cause there's no second try
- So live like you're never living twice
- Don't take the free ride in your own life
- Let nothing stand in your way
"Look at everything as though you were seeing it either for the first or last time."
Betty Smith
Take the Road Less Traveled By
The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost (1874-1963)
TWO roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
"Two roads diverged in a wood,
and I-
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference."
Robert Frost
Learn to Take Road Less Traveled
"For it matters not,
how much we own,
the cars, the house, the cash,
what matters is how we live and love
and how we spend our dash."
Linda Ellis
Make Your Dash Count
The Dash Poem by Linda Ellis
I read of a man who stood to speak
At the funeral of a friend.
He referred to the dates on her tombstone
From the beginning to the end.
He noted that first came the date of her birth
And spoke of the following date with tears,
But he said what mattered most of all
Was the dash between those years.
For that dash represents all the time
That she spent alive on earth
And now only those who loved her
Know what that little line is worth.
For it matters not, how much we own,
The cars, the house, the cash,
What matters is how we live and love
And how we spend our dash.
So think about this long and hard;
Are there things you'd like to change?
For you never know how much time is left
That can still be rearranged.
If we could just slow down enough
To consider what's true and real
And always try to understand
The way other people feel.
And be less quick to anger
And show appreciation more
And love the people in our lives
Like we've never loved before.
If we treat each other with respect
And more often wear a smile,
Remembering that this special dash
Might only last a little while.
So when your eulogy is being read
With your life's actions to rehash
Would you be proud of the things they say
About how you spent your dash?
I Want to Teach My Son to Cook
Healthy food, real food, food from the earth, FOODS of INTENTION
I Hope You Dance
When you get the choice to sit it out or dance...
I hope you dance
You get your fill to eat but always keep that hunger,
May you never take one single breath for granted,
GOD forbid love ever leave you empty handed,
I hope you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean,
Whenever one door closes, I hope one more opens,
Promise me that you'll give faith a fighting chance,
And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance.
I hope you dance....I hope you dance.
I hope you never fear those mountains in the distance,
Never settle for the path of least resistance
Livin' might mean takin' chances, but they're worth takin',
Lovin' might be a mistake but it's worth makin',
Don't let some hell bent heart leave you bitter,
When you come close to sellin' out reconsider,
Give the heavens above more than just a passing glance,
And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance.
I hope you dance....I hope you dance.
Lyrics: I Hope You Dance by Lee Ann Womack
I Hope You Dance....I Hope You Dance
Don't Quit
The Don't Quit Poem
When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
When the road you're trudging seems all uphill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest, if you must, but don't you quit.
Life is queer with its twists and turns,
As every one of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about,
When he might have won had he stuck it out;
Don't give up though the pace seems slow--
You may succeed with another blow.
Often the goal is nearer than,
It seems to a faint and faltering man,
Often the struggler has given up,
When he might have captured the victor's cup,
And he learned too late when the night slipped down,
How close he was to the golden crown.
Success is failure turned inside out--
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems so far,
So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit--
It's when things seem worst that you must not quit.
- Author unknown
Don't Sweat the Small Stuff
...and it's all small stuff!
To a Child, Love is Spelled T-I-M-E
Your children will become what you are....
so be what you want them to be
I made this mouse pad from Zazzle to remind myself that my son will become what I am, so I need to be the person I want him to be.
I'm a WAHM (a work-at-home-mom) and so I'm at my computer a lot. Every time I use my mouse I'm reminded of my promise I made to my son and to myself.
Welcome My Friend!
Please Say Hi!
Thank You for reading "100 Things I Want to Teach My Son."
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Helenee
Mar 21, 2011 @ 2:53 am | delete
- Sometimes we have to go through very hard times - but knowing that we are the world to this one person, that we can make or break a little soul, that we are the model on which (s)he interprets the world and his/herself... we find the strength and the means to get out of the mess, better than before.
Great lens!
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my_never_bored_hands
Jan 21, 2011 @ 10:43 pm | delete
- Amazing lens! I love this list of 100 things you want to teach your son... I had really hard time to pick the best one to vote... and decided that "You must do the things you think you cannot do." by Eleanor Roosevelt will, in my opinion, "cover" most of them. I'm trying to live each day of my life as it is the last day, then hopefully in the end I won't have anything to regret.
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tdpierceall2002
Dec 19, 2010 @ 1:48 pm | delete
- I really love The Dash poem. Thank you for sharing that. I never thought of it that way before.
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rwoman
Nov 26, 2010 @ 11:42 am | delete
- Such a thoughtful mother!
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vallain
Nov 24, 2010 @ 12:48 pm | delete
- I imagine most parents never sit down and write out their thoughts on this. Sounds like an important and worthwhile thing to do.
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cannedguds
Nov 4, 2010 @ 9:48 pm | delete
- I'm really fortunate I've stumbled upon this lens! I will teach these 100 things to my son!
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aesta1
Nov 4, 2010 @ 7:57 pm | delete
- All my favourites, the ones you included here. This will go well with my lens Values for Life. I used to read and reread Gibran's just to remind me that we need to give our children space to grow and become their own persons.
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pkmcr
Nov 3, 2010 @ 3:17 pm | delete
- What a wonderful and very touching lens. Blessed by a passing Squid Angel :-)
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Desilegend Nov 3, 2010 @ 1:53 pm | delete
- Great and very inspiring quotes!
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Tipi
Nov 1, 2010 @ 1:13 pm | delete
- Excellent lens. Love the list of 100 things you want to teach your son.
This is all from the heart, and full of a mother's love. Wonderful!
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by FelicityLuckey
Hi, my name is Felicity Luckey (Happy and Lucky!) These days I'm a WAHM (a Work At Home Mom.)
Before I made the decision to stay at home with my so...
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